Lifeologia

We have welcomed May= today with a bit of rain. And I don’t think it’s going to go away any time soon…. but, those springtime showers are my favourite. Gloomy grey skies won’t ruin my mood. And even if they do, just for a little bit, I know just the remedy for those melancholy days… comfort food. This time, I declared it must be Shepherd’s Pie – Vegan style. It’s just what my cravings were calling for…. and a Lentil Shepherd’s Pie was quickly made up with just a few easy to find ingredient (you may already have in your pantry). Let’s get to it!

Now I don’t like to feel like I’m giving up anything when it comes to comfort food. It’s easy to spot a ‘fake’ dish miles away…. but this, this is a wonderful dish that will heighten all your senses and satisfy all your comfort-food cravings… I may have a few preferences for my ingredients (notice, I don’t dwell on the restrictions here, but keep to the positive). My preferences for a cooked hardy meal were lots of authentic to a Shepherd’s pie veggies, mashed potato layer, and a good protein and fibre source; lentils. Here is the recipe you’re all waiting for:

Vegan Lentil Shepherd’s Pie

{vegan and gluten free recipe}

Ingredients:

1 onion

2 carrots

1/2 cup sweet peas (frozen are fine)

1 stalk of celery (optional)

1 can of organic corn

1 large can of lentils

5-7 large yukon gold potatoes

1/4 cup rice milk

sea salt and pepper to taste

pinch of cumin

1/2 teaspoon thyme

2 tablespoons of soy sauce

1 teaspoon dried paprika

oil for cooking

chef notes : Ok, honestly I was out of sweet peas for this version, so it’s actually without the sweet peas in these photos. Also, you might be raising your eyebrows that the Worcestershire sauce is’t on this list. Well it’s actually a fermented anchovy sauce – so this can be easily skipped if you’re vegan and it tastes great without it too.

Directions: In a large pot, cook the peeled potatoes in salted water. In a large pan, saute the chopped onions, carrots, celery – cook until golden, add the frozen peas and lentils and cover to cook for a few minutes. Add a bit of water if these veggies start to stick to the bottom of the pan. Add in the corn and season with cumin and thyme, salt and pepper. Keep covered, turn down the heat to low.

Your potatoes should be boiled by now, drain them leaving some of the water near the bottom, mash them with the rice milk until a puree forms. Taste and season with salt and pepper.

In an oven -safe dish, place in the whole mix of vegetables with lentils into the bottom of the pan and spread out evenly. Add the mashed potatoes on top and smooth out over top with the back of the spoon. Sprinkle the top with dried paprika, and poke through with a fork to make vents in the mashed potatoes.

Bake at 350 F for 20-30 minutes. Let it set for 10 minutes before serving, but serve while still hot. Enjoy your delicious healthy Vegan comfort-food.

Yummm…. doesn’t that look good! I think I will be making this again soon before the summer heat kicks in.

Changing up a few things for a healthier alternative is easier than you think. I’m not a crazy obsessed veganist, I just eat food that makes me feel good. And meat-less, veggie-rich dishes are what makes me feel good. I also like to make something that the meat-loving other half in the family enjoys as well, and doesn’t feel like he’s fed ‘rabbit food’ all the time (although occasionally, rabbit food it is! ;)

Seriously, this meal is good! You won’t miss any meat with this version, and you’ll feel happier with a lighter plant-based meal. And if you are vegan, than you’ll be oh-so-happy warm comfort food awaits and feeds all your senses and nourishes your body.

:: happiness is… a lovely way to start the week with a positive reflection of what brings happiness to you right now. positive thinking on a monday morning ~ there’s no better way to start the week. i hope you will join me.

Happiness is…

friendship
tackling chores over the weekend
getting a good chunk of yard work done
(but there’s still lots to be done)
realizing how gardening is such a workout
that is a good thing ;)
plus just being in all that fresh air is invigorating
energizing

seeing my friend again (an old neighbour who moved away)
and catching up
watching our kids play out in the yard
there was digging for treasure, playing ‘trees’
and our first bonfire of the season was lit
really only to warm up at daytime
but marshmallows were made
and that cottage feel at home was born
then we picked things up again once the kids were in bed
and stayed up late with our friends
just talking the night away
ps. I just realized through the photos that we totally
dressed in same tones as though we’d plan it ;)

sunday we started with fluffy spelt pancakes
then went straight into yard work
my daughter was very busy nearby
collecting sticks
for dogs
which she then sold in her
‘dog-stick shop’ : her first business!
calling out into the street
‘dog sticks for sale’!
what an entrepreneurial mind she already has ;)
she added dandelion flowers to it
when I told her not everyone has dogs
this was of course, all her own idea ;)
cuteeee! she made 2 sales ;)

i must add that happiness
for me lately is really getting into
a working out mood!
I am on a roll (to beat my rolls) lol
and just seriously doing it
dumpbells, cardio,
even just dancing…..

i am feeling amazing
kind-of-fit
beautiful and strong….

oh so strong!

I’m no beauty queen, I’m just beautiful me!
You’ve got every right
To a beautiful life!

These of course are lyrics to the lovely song ‘Who says’ by Selena Gomez…. a nice tune, I think to kick of this lovely Monday morning ;) xo Wishing you a fantastic week ahead!!!

So my friends, what is making you happy right now?

Happy Friday! (although I’m in complete denial that this week zoomed by already)

Hope you’re ready for another Potluck Party! Come, Welcome and Relax. Grab your favourite drink and make yourself comfortable…. share your favourite recipe in the link section below and mingle away with the other ‘guests’ ;)

Last week, the Earth Day Potluck Party was a lot of fun. There were tons of amazing healthy recipes – if you haven’t checked them out yet, take a look at the post again. Thanks everyone one for joining in the fun!

This week, let’s focus on Vegan recipes that are good and easy for everyone to make (not just vegans). Let’s cut that barrier that it’s such a challenging diet! Let’s pretend we’ll have a few carnivores in the house, and we want to impress these guys that vegan dishes are super-satisfying and delicious!

HEALTHY VEGAN RECIPES

I am very excited to see a wonderful community forming here. Thank you so much for being here. Please extend this invitation to your friends so we can grow this community of health-conscious people and have a variety of healthy recipes right at our fingertips!

We are focusing on Nutritious & Delicious healthy recipes that are mostly vegan, vegetarian and raw as well as gluten-free but not exclusively. Recipes that are free of refined sugars, have no artificial colours and flavours, are not processed would qualify as healthy. Some exceptions will include wild fish dishes, and recipes with ancient grains like spelt & kamut are also welcomed. Please no posts that sell anything and unrelated links will be deleted. (for a feel of the party check this post). You are encouraged to search through your archives and dig up some older recipes. Don’t have a blog or a link to a recipe? No worries, just say hello anyway, glad you could visit. And here’s a stamp of approval for your submission if you want to add it into your post.

To Play: It is now mandatory to add a linkback to a post you’re submitting for the Potluck Party @ Lifeologia (follow the directions when you link up). Copy the url link from your recipe post you want to share, click on the bottom blue button and follow the instructions. Let me know if you have any problems with linking.

Thanks for being here and supporting this great Potluck Party event. Now let’s have fun!
The party ends Sunday at midnight.

Any new comers to Lifeologia? Be sure to ‘like’ my facebook page for updates on the blog and life, as well as inspirational quotes and tips for FB fans anly. Also, you can subscribe to my ‘Connections’ and get updates via email! (scroll down to the bottom of the sidebar) xo

Wishing you a wonderful weekend!

ps. my apology for not posting the last few days – I encountered several deadlines at work and just really had to stick to my priorities. I did however start a few great posts with an earth day theme but didn’t get to actually post them (hate that) – so I will try to fill in the blanks of the last few days with something fun. Check back soon ;)

Yup, that’s right! Kickass Kale SuperSmoothies will jump start your day the right way ~ with a kick – you know where! Oh, come on, I know we all need one once in a while ;P And today’s your lucky day! LOL! This is one of my favourite Green Smoothie recipes with a base of the super-food Kale that’s kicked up a notch with the powerful nutrition of Spirulina Powder - and zinged up with Grapefruit! Now let’s not leave out the Banana – another brain food that adds a nice smoothness to our smoothie!

Children’s version : drizzle in about 2 tablespoons of organic fruit syrup or agave nectar (or honey if not vegan).

You’ll need a juicer and a blender for this recipe. I use a small hand held blender to fish it off. (If yo have a high quality juicer/ blender like the VitaMix than you would just need the one appliance.)

Directions : In a juicer, juice the kale and peeled grapefruit. In a tall cup, add in a teaspoon of Spirulina Powder and banana and mix with the hand held blender.

Smoothie making tips :

For the Spirulina use up to 1 tablespoon depending on how you like it. (I’m certainly used to the taste and love it – but I use less in a big batch when making it for the rest of the family also.

When juicing the kale, juice it first, run the pulp one more time through the juicer to get all the goodies out for your juice. Now move all that kale pulp into a dish or storage container – that is still worth gold in a pasta dish for supper! Now go back and juice your grapefruit, twice again to get as much juice out of there as possible.

You would not know this but KALE is my magic word for this blog. It is the number one search engine word that gets people to come right here into my big open arms. Don’t really know how that happened (it must be the ‘health benefits of kale’ post) and how it continues to happen daily, but to live up to my blog’s expectations I now make sure to have regular stock-up of Kale in my fridge at all times! After all, Kale is King – as my earlier post states!

Now you know who wears the superhero cape in our hose. And no it’s not me, it’s the Kale!

This is definitely a recipe that kicks up your energy level way up! I loved it! My husband swallowed it! And my daughter sipped on it enjoyably with her version with a raspberry lemon fruit syrup!

Here’s the scoop of the health benefits in one glass of this amazing Kickass Kale SuperSmoothie!

Spirulina : a source of protein, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals. Eating five grams of spirulina provides about 230 percent of the Recommended Daily Allowances (RDAs) of vitamin A and beta carotene, 150 percent of the RDAs of vitamin D and vitamin B12, and 125 percent of the RDA of vitamin K. It’s also a rich source of carotenoids, copper, vitamin E, iron, manganese, selenium, and zinc

Grapefruit : contains citric acid, natural sugars, essential oils like limonene, pinene and citral. It has high amounts of vitamin C, and smaller amounts of vitamin A, B complex, E and K. In the mineral department, larger amounts of calcium, folic acid, phosphorus, and potassium are found. The nutritive phytonutrients of this voluptuous fruit are liminoids, flavonoids, lycopene and glucarates – help fight cancer and various diseases.

I have a love/hate relationship with juicing (blended smoothies I love) but it’s the juicing am usually avoiding. I think it’s the clean up that’s no fun! ;) I am on a mission to do them more often! Working hard on that ‘love’ part more lately!

:: happiness is… a lovely way to start the week with a positive reflection of what brings happiness to you right now. positive thinking on a monday morning ~ there’s no better way to start the week. i hope you will join me.

Happiness is…

Enjoying a beautiful weekend, although a little too cold for this time of the year
Spending friday at my big sister’s and hanging out with our kiddos
we took a walk outside and had a lovely lunch
Later, my girl and I set out to do some gardening and
we planted beautiful blackberry bushes ~ can’t wait for those!

Saturday was a busy and fun day with just us three
we went to a craft show – yes, with the mr ;D and my girl
and later went out for dinner for sushi – good times!
My girl loves restaurant dining and I love it too as
it’s the only time she sits through the whole meal
and insists on eating all by herself ;)

The Made by Hand Show was so much fun!
It was so amazing to meet such wonderful and very
talented people in person, here locally.
I chatted to several very inspirational ladies and
just had such a good time.
(if you’re one of them ~ please say hello ;)
I should mention that there was Cinderella to entertain
both my daughter and husband ;)

Sunday we enjoyed a great family outing
a house-warming low-key party for the little sister
in the smallest cutest apartment in the grooviest part
of town ~ I could not count the raw/vegan restaurants
that were nearby on my fingers!
We ‘picky’ eaters are so trendy now ;D LOL

We had a 100% vegan and gluten-free dinner at my sisters
(who loves me the most?) and no it wasn’t the little portions set aside for me!
After that, we walked quite a long walk to High Park -
only to walk some more in the park ~ the kids managed
great and we all loved the wisp of fresh air and a burn in our legs
~ with only a few ‘are-we-there-yets’? from the grown-ups
(but that’s because the little ones got carried!)

It wasn’t until later that we reminded ourselves that it’s
Earth Day and patted each other on our backs that we didn’t
use the car as much or the computers! ;D

ps. I discovered a new tea : Chocolate Chai (from PC!) – happiness!

:: I hope you too had a great weekend and are finding happiness in your life right now. Please share below what happiness is to you right now:

To me, happiness is…

.

ps. I always try to leave you with a good song to start off your week in the best possible way…. Here is one of my favourite brother/ sister talents : Angus and Julia Stone ~ Big Jet Plane

Happy Monday!

pps. Poppytalk and Craftzine featured my Sweet Seedlings yesterday so I’m thrilled about that! Check out these amazing blogs if you don’t know them already. Anyone visiting from Poppytalk, Craftzine or the Made by Hand Show ~ say hello ;D

Don’t forget to visit my Facebook page and Like me for updates on the blog and life as well as lots of inspirational quotes and info not shared on the blog. xo

Happy Friday! Are you ready for another Potluck Party? Come, Welcome and Relax. Grab your favourite drink and make yourself comfortable…. share your favourite recipe in the link section below and mingle away with the other ‘guests’ ;)

This week since it’s all about our lovely Earth ~ although everyday is Earth day, in my book!

You can scour your archives for these, something Green comes to mind ;) Veggie-rich dishes. We’re all about plant-based meals anyway, but let’s have something that would please David Suzuki, Alicia Silverstone and Kathy Freston at a luncheon! Green smoothies would rock! And you bet that chocolate dirt with seedlings will be served! ;)

Earth-Day recipes link-up.

I am very excited to see a wonderful community forming here. Thank you so much for being here. Please extend this invitation to your friends so we can grow this community of health-conscious people and have a variety of healthy recipes right at our fingertips!

We are focusing on Nutritious & Delicious healthy recipes that are mostly vegan, vegetarian and raw as well as gluten-free but not exclusively. Recipes that are free of refined sugars, have no artificial colours and flavours, are not processed would qualify as healthy. Some exceptions will include wild fish dishes, and recipes with ancient grains like spelt & kamut are also welcomed. Please no posts that sell anything and unrelated links will be deleted. (for a feel of the party check this post). You are encouraged to search through your archives and dig up some older recipes. Don’t have a blog or a link to a recipe? No worries, just say hello anyway, glad you could visit. And here’s a stamp of approval for your submission if you want to add it into your post.

To Play: It is now mandatory to add a linkback to a post you’re submitting for the Potluck Party @ Lifeologia (follow the directions when you link up). Copy the url link from your recipe post you want to share, click on the bottom blue button and follow the instructions. Let me know if you have any problems with linking.

Thanks for being here and supporting this great Potluck Party event. Now let’s have fun!
The party ends on Sunday at midnight.

Any new comers to Lifeologia? Be sure to ‘like’ my facebook page for updates on the blog and life. Also, you can subscribe to my ‘Connections’ and get updates via email! (scroll down to the bottom of the sidebar) xo

Wishing you a wonderful Earth-Day weekend! Earth Day is on Sunday April 22nd!
Ok, gotta go, plant a tree or something! ;) And we so will, it’s a double dare ;)How do you celebrate Earth Day?

:: hello friends. please take a moment to visit my facebook page and click ‘Like’ for updates on posts and other inspirational tips, quotes and links only shared on fb. thanks. ella

Hello earthlings! In celebration of Earth Day coming up on April 22nd, I have a cute treat for you all! These are Sweet Seedlings from the Earth we made as an Earth Day treat! Who said you can’t eat dirt!? Crazy delicious dirt that is! The treats were so fun to make with my own little earth-loving seedling herself. So if you do have little growing sprouts around, do include them in this earth-day inspired dessert. Here’s what to do:

Great alternatives would be : sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, goji berries, all kinds of chopped nuts : walnuts, pine, hazelnut ~ you could go nuts here ;) (see a note below about school safe options)
One thing to remember is that you need a fine grind ingredient such as the hemp hearts and some larger pieced for texture.

Directions :

Rinse and gently dry off your mint leaves with paper towel and set aside. You can store your mint leaves in a cup with water in your refrigerator for longer freshness. (being careful that the leaves don’t touch the water, so you may need to remove some of the leaves)

Melt the chocolate (I place mine in a bowl over a pot with boiling water- it does the trick pretty well – we then use the same bowl to mix our ingredients (so we don’t waste any chocolate! ;) For mixing, invite some children if you have any around. I had one and she did a pretty good job including the taste testing (ps. I did replace the spoon once she licked it off (although it was clean to my eyes) ;)

Scoop a spoonful of your chocolatey dirt onto parchment paper and shape into circles. Check below as to when the best time is to add your mint leaves as they will wilt if left for too long.

Adding Seedlings (Mint)

You will use the tops of your mint plants for the seedlings. Cut about 1.5-2″ down from the top (look for a natural leaf burst and cut so the shape looks even and resembles a seedling).

Serving in 30-60 minutes : Insert the stem of the mint plant (making sure it’s dry) into the centre of the chocolate earth, while still soft. Place into the refrigerator for about 20 minutes to set or longer – up to an hour. Serve immediately.

Serving next day : Use a toothpick to poke a hole through the chocolate earth and place in the refrigerator without the mint plants in them. You may want to re-poke them a few hours later so the still-soft chocolate won’t fill in the hole. Next day, just before serving, insert the mint leaf tops (stems dried off from the water).

School Safe Alternatives

Not all schools allow almonds, even though almonds are technically not considered nuts. An almond is the seed (pit) of a drupe, which is a fruit much like a peach. Nuts are hard-shelled fruit that have an indehiscent seed, meaning it doesn’t split open or separate at maturity to release seeds. To be safe, check with your school’s policy about almonds if you want to bring them to school. If you can’t use almonds, other options such as sunflower or pumpkin seeds, goji berries, sesame seeds etc. would also be great.

This doesn’t have to be a ‘cute’ snack for kids. Make a beautiful presentation for grown ups and they will sprout with excitement!

Hope you like this Earth-Day treat! Never thought you could be drooling over some dirt, did you now?

Ever wish you could just fly over the Bryce Canyon and be mesmerized by their high sculpted peaks, or taken a hot air balloon tour of the ancient temples in Bagan, Myanmar, or view the grand beauty of the Machu Picchu – the ancient city of the Inca Empire? Well now you can just literally (virtually) fly over these beautiful places of the world thanks to AirPano and their 3-D Virtual Tours.

These breathtakingly beautiful photographs of our mother earth are only a tease of what you’re about to see. The amazing team at AirPano.com compiled a series of crazy beautiful – so lost for words here – you’ll know what I mean once you see this : incredible 360 Degree Aerial Panoramic Views and 3D Virtual Tours of some of the most beautiful places on our earth.

You will feel like a real bird flying over these beautiful lands (just with a control of your mouse or keyboard).

Gosh, isn’t our our earth just so beautiful! The very earth we stand on; barefoot and can walk on, build on and breathe on. The earth is magnificent – be good to it. Be caring, thankful, forgiving and loving. Our earth is a real masterpiece ~ and they captured it so well! Be prepared to loose yourself in this beauty and awe….

With my daughter on my lap, we sat with curiosity and amazement for a while just wow’ing away at the incredible birdseye views ~ kind of appreciating daddy’s skydiving hobby ;) Machu Picchu is on our wish list to see ever since I started to walk again ~ I have the urge to climb/ hike and just walk barefoot (when possible) on this earth… ;)

I hope you all had a great weekend ~ would love to hear all about it….
It’s starting out to be a beautiful Monday over here – I hope it is for you too.

Here’s what happiness is to me right now…..

Beautiful springtime…
longer days,
being outside
enjoying that smell of spring
that freshness in the air gives
flowers in bloom
buds opening up in our eyes
seeing that the grass is greener

Our weekend was spent with some friends and at home
good times filled with laughter
good conversation
and kids busy at play

I baked a yummy crumb cake for my friend
I’m so old school, and when I get invited over to someone’s house,
I rush to check for baking ingredients
it’s so nice to have the house smelling so good with fresh baked goods in the oven
I kept some of the cake, and didn’t want to fall into temptation
so I invited my sister in law with my niece over for tea and cake on Sunday.

Loving those good uneventful days….
Enjoying the open windows with birds singing away…..
Loving spring. Loving life.